Economic Development

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As the second annual Denver Startup Week continues, the Denver Office of Economic Development (OED) today continued its tradition begun last year and recognized a new group of five high-growth companies as “Denver Gazelles.” Each firm has been named for its success and growth potential. The companies, which have collectively raised more than $57 million in capital over the past 18 months, are Convercent, FullContact, Placeable, Sympoz and WellTok, Inc.
“We are proud to market Denver to domestic and international investors as a fertile, energetic, and active climate for entrepreneurial start-ups by recognizing five outstanding Denver companies that have recently obtained a substantial infusion of capital and are experiencing exponential growth,” said Paul Washington, OED executive director. “Named after the swift four-legged gazelle, these are fast-moving companies with unlimited futures."
The OED named its 2013 Denver Gazelles based on referrals and internal research among its business development staff and the venture capital/financial community. The criteria included whether the firm is headquartered here with a majority of employees based in Denver; has received at least one investment of outside capital within the last 18 months; has shown exponential job growth over the 18-month timeframe (i.e., during the previous calendar year and the subsequent six months); demonstrates extracurricular involvement in the Denver community; and offers a CEO-level commitment to the Denver entrepreneur community and participation in Denver Gazelle activities.
Now starting its second year, the OED’s Gazelle Mentor Advisory Committee consists of employees of previously recognized Denver Gazelles. The voluntary group is brought together on a periodic basis to share experiences and provide input on the ongoing format and operations of the program.
The recognition of high-growth companies is a business retention initiative identified in the OED’s JumpStart 2013 strategic plan.SUMMARY PROFILES – 2013 “Gazelles”
Convercent – Convercent is a 65-employee software firm that is modernizing the way companies bring their values, policies and regulatory compliance activities together with a positive employee engagement experience to create thriving, risk-averse, ethical businesses. The company recently announced $10.2 million in new funding. FullContact – A 31-person software firm, FullContact has developed a suite of APIs to help companies easily integrate social data and verification into their services and applications. The company has also developed business card reader and cloud address book applications that allow users to import, de-duplicate, merge and enrich their own contacts.Placeable – Placeable helps large advertisers improve results and the local consumer experience by enhancing the optimization of directories, local pages, search engine listings and maps, locators and social networks. The 40-employee firm’s technology powers locations worldwide for brands like Bank of America, Western Union and American Express.Sympoz – Doing business as Craftsy, Sympoz’s core purpose is to enrich people’s lives by creating a dynamic community destination that provides highly curated education, resources, and products for creative enthusiasts who love to learn, make, share and inspire. Sympoz currently employs 150. The company tripled its staff in 2012, with revenue growth expected to double in the coming year.WellTok, Inc. – WellTok, Inc. is revolutionizing the way health plan providers optimize consumer health by aligning activities and behaviors with incentives and rewards. CaféWell, the company’s flagship platform, enables access to a variety of health optimization resources and drives engagement through a combination of social, gaming and personalization technologies.

Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 (Archive on Monday, January 01, 0001)Posted by woodoed Contributed by woodoed